


What Had Been

by Mattagross



Category: Senki Zesshou Symphogear
Genre: Beta Read we live like one of the Many children Hibiki has saved, Light Angst, Tsubasa & Chris friendship, Tsubasa needs a hug, Tusbasa feels guilt over S1
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 08:33:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27967616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mattagross/pseuds/Mattagross
Summary: The burden of memories weighed heavily on Tsubasa's shoulders.
Relationships: Kazanari Tsubasa & Yukine Chris, Tachibana Hibiki & Kazanari Tsubasa
Comments: 1
Kudos: 20





	What Had Been

_ Beep. _

A half step forward, the back foot sliding smoothly into where the front foot had been previously.

_ Beep. _

Similar, but the back foot being replaced by the front foot – key to Jeet Kune Do’s retreat style.

_ Beep beep. _

Two beeps – a shuffle forward, quickly followed by a shuffle backwards.

**_Ding!_ **

A different tone - a different move. Hibiki’s clenched fist rocketed forward as fast she recognized the sound, a world-shaking punch aimed at her imaginary opponent’s midsection. Any unfortunate soul to be caught in its way would be dealing with broken ribs – if they were lucky enough to deal with them alone.

_ Beep beep beep. _

More shuffling – more effort put into keeping her movements fluent, her positioning correct, her posture perfect. When she was in this state, Hibiki seemed to force herself into lacking any weaknesses.

It was, in Tsubasa’s view, inspiring, how quickly the girl had taken to the path she was forced onto.

There was no choice in her life to become the wielder of the relic Gungnir; just the attendance of a concert, and the sudden, sharp pain of shrapnel hitting her chest.

Of course, she could have stepped down after the Frontier incident, having done more than enough to warrant retirement in Tsubasa’s view. Dealing with that same shrapnel’s cancer-like properties, the pain of a loved one being put in harm’s way…

That’d be enough to break a lesser woman.

And yet, she stood in front of her, diligently training for a life she had only barely chosen for herself. It was hard to think that, at one point, Tsubasa had doubted her ability, brief as it may have been in hindsight.

And yet…

“…pai. Oi, Bakamori!” A rough shove and sharp shout spurred Tsubasa from her thoughts. “I’ve been trying to get your attention for a while now, y’know!”

“Oh. My apologies, Yukine. I was just…” She trailed off, watching as Hibiki’s upper body snapped forward as she threw another punch to the tone of a  **_Ding!_ **

Unconsciously, Tsubasa’s shoulders slumped.

It wasn’t that she was jealous of Hibiki; the skills that she’d acquired in and out of her Gear were ones that she’d trained to achieve, similarly to how Tsubasa honed her own in the sword for the sake of Ame no Habakiri.

No, it wasn’t that at all.

When she’d started out, she was in no shape to wield any Symphogear, let alone Gungnir. Ideally, Kanade – oh how the name burned to say, to  _ think _ , even to this day – would still be with them. Tachibana Hibiki would merely be a civilian, alongside Kohinata Miku, and the two would never have their lives be radically changed.

But that was merely a fantasy, something that would never come to pass. Tachibana Hibiki was the wielder of Gungnir, both then and now. It was something that the then called Section 2 would merely have to accept.

Most of everyone did, barring one exception.

“… You’re thinking about how you treated her before.” Chris’s gaze had followed her own, evidently. The Ichaival user had only heard an abridged version of the events prior to her joining them from Tsubasa, due not only to more pressing issues at hand, but also out of an unfounded fear.

Yukine Chris was at the time a stranger, a wildcard, a rogue element. There was no telling how she’d react.

Of course, now she was a trusted ally, a confidant, and most importantly, one of Tsubasa’s best friends. One of her only friends, really, and one that she’d only met thanks to the girl that was pouring her heart into her training.

The two were silent as they watched Hibiki run through her drill, the occasional force of her punches causing a soft breeze to gently tickle their cheeks. Eventually, with a drawn-out sigh, Chris broke the silence.

“The only specific things I know are the ones I was there for. Like…”

Echoes of her own words rang through Tsubasa’s mind.

_ ‘This is what it truly means to be sentinel!’ _

The memories of staring at Hibiki’s mortified face as blood poured from her eyes and mouth pooling at her feet flashed through Tsubasa’s mind.

She knew exactly what Chris was referring to, her fists unconsciously clenching in her lap.

“…I can’t pretend to know what you did prior to that, Senpai, mostly because you refused to tell me. But whatever it was – she’s forgiven you by now, clearly. Maybe… you just need to forgive yourself, too. And I think that starts by talking to her about this.” With that, Chris began the walk towards the exit, leaving an emotionally exhausted Tsubasa behind her.

With one last forlorn look towards Hibiki, Tsubasa moved to follow, one sentence dead center in her mind.

_ ‘I don’t know how, Yukine. I don’t know how.’ _

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is, for lack of a better term, Therapy adjacent.
> 
> I know its not very long, and my posting schedule is haha what schedule, but I felt like it was impossible to make this longer without it feeling like padding.
> 
> No, you aren't hallucinating, that *does* say 1/2 - I just felt like *this part* was at a perfect length.
> 
> Thank you so much to my beta readers - Lucky, Nuker, Solo and Fenny - for putting up with my nonsense some days.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed.


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